Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
It is often necessary to resect a portion of the colon or intestine in order to remove a tumor or to treat a chronic infection. Following the resection, an anastomosis may be performed to reconnect remaining intestinal tissue to restore function. During the anastomosis procedure, the surgeon examines the cut ends of the intestine prior to suturing them together. Upon this examination, the surgeon may choose to re-cut the ends to completely assure that all cancerous or infected tissue will be excluded from the planned anastomosis while trying to conserve as much intestinal tissue with viable microcirculation as possible. In these cases, the surgeon's judgment is subjective. It is difficult to visually assess the impact of the resection upon local blood flow (especially microcirculation), and particularly around its complete circumference, which may create a significant surgical risk for the patient.
Specifically, ischemia of the tissue at the site of the anastomosis is often correlated with subsequent leakage and associated infection. Reported incidences of anastomotic leakage range between 1.2% and 19.2% of patients and up to 32% of patients with anastomotic leakage die from the postoperative complication. The risk of anastomotic leakage can be reduced by selecting an intestinal cut and suture line that preserves macro and micro circulation and adequate perfusion of the tissue on both sides of the anastomosis.